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Linux 6.16's New "X86_NATIVE_CPU" Option Enhances I/O & Some Graphics/Gaming Workloads

With the newly-released Linux 6.16 kernel there is the new X86_NATIVE_CPU build option if wanting to optimize your kernel build for your local CPU in use. Enabling CONFIG_X86_NATIVE_CPU is setting the "-march=native" compiler optimizations for the kernel build in an effort to ensure peak performance/optimizations for the local system. Here are some benchmarks looking at the impact of X86_NATIVE_CPU on Linux 6.16 while using the HP ZBook Ultra G1a laptop with AMD Strix Halo SoC as an interesting test target for squeezing additional performance.
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Ubuntu To Keep Up-To-Date With Linux Kernel Versions During Development

Last year Canonical established a policy to always ship the latest Linux kernel version at Ubuntu release time which for the upcoming Ubuntu 25.10 will mean shipping with Linux v6.17. But during the Ubuntu development cycles they typically don't aggressively update to new interim versions tracking upstream, except that will now change to allow for better kernel test coverage...
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Intel QAT Accelerators Being Demoted On Linux By FSCRYPT: Bug Prone & Slow

Intel's accelerator efforts in recent generations of Xeon processors have been challenging to say the least. From limited software support and configuration obstacles to some current-generation accelerators not being safe for VM use due to security issues to having to deal with higher latency and other nuances if wanting to achieve decent performance. One of the Linux kernel users of Intel's QuickAssist Technology "QAT" accelerators has been the FSCRYPT code for native file encryption support. But the Linux kernel with the FSCRYPT usage is now demoting the Intel QAT accelerator support along with other problem-causing accelerator drivers...
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Intel Panther Lake Perf Integration Ready For Linux 6.17

The Linux support for Intel's next-generation Panther Lake SoCs appears to be largely set with Linux 6.16 ahead of the Core Ultra Series 3 laptops debuting in the coming months. There are though a few stragglers of Panther Lake support such as the performance events code in Linux 6.17 only now landing the perf integration...
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GNU Linux-libre 6.16 Fights Firmware In Nouveau, NOVA, Ath12k & Other Drivers

Following the Linux 6.16 kernel release from Sunday evening, GNU Linux-libre 6.16-gnu is now available for that kernel downstream that strips out driver/kernel code dependent upon non-free-software microcode/firmware, the ability to load proprietary kernel modules, and carving out other bits of the Linux kernel not meeting their stringent free software standards...
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AMD Kernel Graphics Driver Exceeds 5.9 Million Lines In Linux 6.16

The modern AMD Kernel graphics driver consisting of AMDGPU, the AMDKFD compute code, and associated infrastructure continues to easily be the largest mainline open-source driver. With the Linux 6.16 kernel debuting as stable as soon as later today, the AMD kernel graphics driver cracks the 5.9 million line threshold. In comparison, the entire Linux kernel source tree comes in at..
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New Ubuntu Concept Snapdragon X Laptop ISOs Published - Your Mileage May Vary

A few days back I wrote about Canonical releasing new Ubuntu 25.04 "Concept" ISOs for the Snapdragon X laptops with the new install images being re-based to the Linux 6.16 kernel and expanding the device support. But as I found out from my own testing, depending upon the laptop the support was still less than ideal. Since then there have been two more ISO releases and addressing one of my show-stopping problems albeit encountering another...
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